Where does money come from? How does the financial system work? Twenty Red Lights is a photographic reflection on modern capitalism and the global financial economy. In each of these twenty photographs (twenty red lights), photographer and economist Max de Esteban tackles key concepts of contemporary finance. While these concepts may seem technical in nature, they are filled with ideological and philosophical meaning.

The book includes three essays that dissect the main characteristics of the new global digital economy that currently rules the world we live in from various perspectives.

Barcelona-born photographer Max de Esteban studied engineering at Universitat Politècnica de Barcelona and has a PhD in economy from Universitat Ramon Llull and a Master’s degree from Stanford University. His work has been exhibited in the Deutsche Technik Museum in Berlin, in the Rencontres Internationales in Paris and at the triennial Darmstadter Tage der Fotografie, amongst others. Author of three monographs, his work Rodarán cabezas [Heads will roll] was chosen by LensCulture as photobook of the year for 2014. His work has been exhibited in artistic institutions worldwide and features in collections of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Modern Art Museum in Rio de Janeiro and the Deutsche Technik Museum in Berlin, among others.